“It takes a lifetime to build a great life,” reminds Matt Gersper, founder of Happy Living and author of The Belief Roadmap and Turning Inspiration Into Action.
Can that life be filled with video games? You’ll be surprised what we end up teasing out! (I didn’t think I liked where it was going for a while, but you’ll probably see in my face when it all became okay…)
In today’s interview, Matt shares how he discovered his own life of significance and how that affects every move he makes. We dig into his 7 foundations of the Belief Roadmap and why it’s not just for adults – how can we as busy parents help our kids live life with a purpose? It’s not about checking out, but about really looking at where we want to be and making intentional moves to get there.

Can’t see the video? Watch How to Be Happy on YouTube.
No time to watch the whole video? Here are the notes!
How to be Happy Video Time Stamps
- 0:15: Matt Gersper is the founder of happyliving.com.
- 0:39: Matt shares why and how he started Happy Living.
- 3:54: The mission of Happy Living is: to improve the health and well-being of the world one person at a time.
What if all that I did, for the rest of my life, was improve the life of one person in my family? Wouldn’t that be enough? -Matt Gerpser
- 6:00: People love systems, boxes and knowing where to go. Matt has created a system called “The Belief Roadmap.” He developed it to help people find inspiration and purpose to live a life of significance.
- 8:04: Even if you don’t work for monetary compensation, humans need to do work to feel significant. If you love the work you do and are able to help people that’s magic! Significance it the ultimate goal of the Belief Roadmap.
Stay safe in the sun, with reef-safe sunscreens
Over the last decade+, I’ve personally tested over 120 natural mineral sunscreens, my standards are very high, and nothing I recommend is considered dangerous to coral reefs.
My top recommended tier with only around a dozen winners is where you really should be spending your time. These formulas are held to the highest standard with rigorous government testing.
Ingredients refined to perfection that most of the time you could practically eat and efficacy and performance tested by the Kimball family in the field.
Find all my reviews of safe sunscreen that works here!
If you’re looking for the best reef-safe sunscreen, simply start there. Here’s a list of some of my ultimate favorites.
- Kลkua Suncare with tons of antioxidants and my kids’ favorite scent and application
- 3rd Rock Essentials rubs in well and reliably prevents burns in our tests (use the code KITCHENSTEW for 20% off!)
- Raw Elements for so many reasons, including their tinted stick for adult faces (all styles, use KS10 for 10% off!)
- Maelove, which I call the best “transition” sunscreen when moving away from chemical ‘screens
- Others that make the top-recommended cut: Badger, ThinkBaby, Kabana
If you’re worried about the white cast on your skin from zinc oxide sunscreen, check out my video on how to apply mineral sunscreen correctly to minimize it.
The Belief Roadmap
- 8:41: The roadmap is structured like a pyramid. The base is about creating capacity. If you have more capacity than you need, you can give to others. Your physical, mental, spiritual and financial fitness all play into your capacity.
- 9:58: We look at the actual pyramid so you can get a visual of what we’re talking about.
- 10:26: The middle tier of the pyramid is love and adventure. They are the catalyst to finding out why you’re here on this earth.
- 11:06: When Matt talks about love he means finding things you love, with people you love, in places you love.
If you’re doing something you love, it gives you more strength to create something new that’s ever been done before. -Matt Gersper
- 11:48: Adventure can be white water rafting and paragliding or reading a book and listening to podcasts. The key is to find something that transports you out of your normal life and puts you in a different mindset where you can hear things differently.
- 13:42: Basically, adventure is stretching any of the first four foundations: physical, mental, spiritual or financial.
- 14:40: This pyramid helps you find your life of significance. You don’t need to work hard to figure it out, it’s already there. Our culture, education and life experiences often give us “shoulds” and stifle our true purpose.
No matter what life throws at our kids, we need them to be resilient.
This free download will give you some practical and actionable steps to improve brain health and resilience.
How do we teach this to our kids?
- 17:30: Even as adults it’s hard to comprehend these ideas. We get into how we can help teach them to our kids.
Get real with yourself. -Matt Gersper
- 19:05: We all have things that we have to do. Over time, try to shift to doing more things that you want to do.
- 19:57: A lot of kids might say it feels really good to play video games, watch TV or YouTube all day. We talk about whether this is healthy or not. ๐ฎ
- 21:44: You need to differentiate between escape and adventure. Some people go on fantastic adventures as a way to turn their brain off and escape from their life. Adventure should turn your brain on and light you up.
- 22:45: Matt shares an example of how video games could play into a life of significance.
- 24:17: We talk about infusing joy and purpose into the things we have to do.
- 26:23: Giving your kids lots of different experiences and showing them an example of completing your responsibilities and seeking a life of significance is a great way to teach them. Sharing your decisions and feelings with them can help them learn how to explore their own feelings.
- 27:21: We end with Matt’s message of hope for parents.
- 29:15: Matt shares a bit about his book. You can download it free on his website.
- 30:34: The pyramid Matt has developed is his foundation for living, you need to figure out what’s important to you personally. You can build your own belief roadmap.
Paleovalley Meat Sticks
It can be hard to find healthy snacks that you can take with you on the go. When I want the convenience of a jerky stick, but want a healthy, protein-packed snack option, I grab Paleovalley meat sticks. Paleovalley ingredients have these high standards that you can feel good about:
- 100% Grass-Fed Beef & 100% Pasture-Raised Turkey
- Never given antibiotics or hormones
- Gluten-free, soy-free, dairy-free
- 0 grams of sugar*
- Contains no artificial nitrates or nitrites
- Non-GMO
- Naturally fermented and contain gut-friendly probiotics!
*With the exception of Teriyaki, which contains 2 grams of sugar from Organic Honey.
These beef sticks and turkey sticks taste delicious! My favorite is the Jalapeรฑo but my kids love Summer Sausage.
Use this link to get 15% off your order at Paleovalley. Read my Paleovalley Review to learn more!
Resources We Mention
He has a special gift for all of you, his book The Belief Roadmap, is available on his website. (just click “Join the Community”) or get the paperback, Kindle or audio version on Amazon. He’s also authored Turning Inspiration Into Action.
What You Should Do Next:
1. Subscribe to the Healthy Parenting Handbook Newsletter
I interview experts about kids’ health every week – stay in the loop with a quick Saturday morning email:
New privacy measures can make pop-up buttons inaccessible – if the button doesn’t respond, here’s a simple, secure link to subscribe.
2. Try a Free Preview of My Cooking Class for Kids
Our members’ favorite lesson is always our 10-minute knife skills and safety class, teaching techniques with unique & memorable phrases from butter knives to chef’s knives (ages 2-teen). Take a peek here and try it out with your kids.
3. Enroll in the Online Cooking Course for Kids:
Enroll now in the Wall Street Journal’s #1 recommended online cooking class for kids (also rated 5 stars on Facebook). See what fits your family best HERE.
About Katie Kimball
Katie Kimball, CSME, creator of Kids Cook Real Food™ and CEO of Kitchen Stewardshipยฎ, LLC, is passionate about connecting families around healthy food. As a trusted educator and author of 8 real food cookbooks, sheโs been featured on media outlets like ABC, NBC and First for Women magazine and contributes periodically on the FOX Network.
Since 2009, busy moms have looked to Katie as a trusted authority and advocate for childrenโs health, and she often partners with health experts and medical practitioners to stay on the cutting edge. In 2016 she created the Wall Street Journal recommended best online kids cooking course, Kids Cook Real Food™, helping thousands of families around the world learn to cook. She is actively masterminding the Kids’ Meal Revolution, with a goal of every child learning to cook.
A mom of 4 kids from Michigan, she is also a Certified Stress Mastery Educator, member of the American Institute of Stress and trained speaker through Bo Easonโs Personal Story Power.